Earlier this week, Patrick, Tyrell and myself attended the 8th Annual Vancouver Nightlife Awards hosted by Clubvibes.com. The awards honored the night owls of the Lower Mainland who week in, week out ensure the city’s party people have a great time. Vancouver is known across Canada for its diverse and vibrant nightlife and this was Vancity’s night to shine. The winners are decided upon by online votes and for the first time ever Facebook users were allowed to vote and not just Clubvibes members. As a result, the number of votes cast, saw an increase of 500%.

It was my first time attending this annual event and I was impressed. Despite a little delay to the start of the evening, the award show went off without a hitch. The production value of the event exceeded my expectations. I definitely applaud the organizers and producers. From what I hear, the show as grown from its humble beginnings at Bar None to that of one that costs over $50,000 to produce at Edgewater Casino in the heart of downtown Vancouver.

Both Jens Marquardt of Canthrill and Chris Ball of Promosa.ca were the guys responsible for putting on the show. Industry veterans Tyson Villeneuve and Christine Van, who hosted the show for the first five years, have returned to hype up the crowd once again.

This year saw a slew of gay-oriented venues and industry workers nominated in several categories. Unfortunately, none of them won in their respective categories. That being said, next year we, the gay community, should make our voices heard and vote for our favorites. At this year’s event, we saw a who’s who of people key to Vancouver gay nightlife. From popular DJ Adam Dreaddy, the hot bartenders of 1181 and to the managers at Celebrities and Oasis, James Steck and Yannick Desautels respectively. Also in attendance were two of the city’s most popular drag queens Joannie and Symone, but in their male alter egos. Check out a list of this year’s LGBT nominees.

LGBT Nominees @ The 8th Annual Vancouver Nightlife Awards

NIGHTCLUB OF THE YEAR
Celebrities

BEST LOUNGE
1181 Tight Lounge

BEST NEW VENUE
Five Sixty

BEST ELECTRONIC NIGHT
Stereotype Fridays – Celebrities

BEST ELECTRONIC DJ
Adam Dreaddy – Five Sixty

BEST TOP 40 NIGHT
Celebrities Tuesdays – Celebrities

BEST TOP 40 DJ
Drew – Celebrities/Numbers/Junction

BEST DOORMAN
Dale Macalder – Odyssey/Junction

All the performers were great but my favorites were the dance troupe House of La Douche and the girl group Vanity which featured former Canadian SYTYCD’rs Joey Matt and Mackenzie Green as backup dancers.